Introduction to entrepreneurship/BMAN111/About
In this micro-course you will explore what makes a successful entrepreneur, and learn about planning and financing a new start-up business. The course is designed for learners to also develop digital literacies for the 21st Century which will valuable for the future.
Orientation to entrepreneurship is offered to North-West University students registered for the Becoming an entrepreneur (BMAN111) course.
What will I learn?
Upon successful completion of this course you will be able to:
- Define entrepreneurship
- Identify the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs
- Examine the key questions an entrepreneur should answer before starting a business
- Explain the purpose and benefits of a business plan
- Outline the different elements of a business plan
- Write an executive summary for a business plan, for a start-up business
- Read and interpret basic financial statements of a business
- Identify financing options for new business start-ups
What's involved?
Each study week you will complete a session by independent online study with your class participants comprising selected sections from seven learning pathways.
The learning pathways are:
- Orientation (to establish a personal digital learning environment)
- Introduction to entrepreneurship
- What makes a successful entrepreneur
- Before starting your own business
- Business planning
- Understanding financial statements
- Financing a new startup
What prerequisites should I have, if any?
Anyone is free to participate in this course. An internet connection and basic web-browsing skills are recommended, with the ability to create a blog and microblog account (instructions and self-study tutorials provided.) You are requested to keep a personal learning journal blog, as reflection has been shown to markedly increase learning, while building digital skills for publishing content online.
You will need to be proficient in English language (reading, writing and listening) to participate successfully in this course.
